At a young age, Andrea knew she wanted to be an author. She vividly remembers her years in elementary school in Steinbach, where the love of books and writing was cultivated at an early age. Many days after school, you could find her in the school library thumbing through the stack of books until something special caught her eye. It wasn’t a love of reading that drew her in, however, but more the idea of searching out the names of local authors and how holding a book made her feel. She recounts how she felt when her own personal stories were woven into physical book forms by volunteers at the school who typed out each page and lovingly sewed those pages together, complete with covers made of wallpaper scraps. Seeing her stories come to life became her dream.
While the dream lay dormant for many years, the opportunity presented itself in an unusual way long after she married, moved to the farming hamlet of Arnaud, Manitoba and started a family. While serving in her local church with the children’s program, she often adapted material to use in the children’s feature on Sunday mornings. She has written many puppet skits and has three full-length Christmas programs to her credit.
Through the encouragement of a dear friend, Andrea began to research potential publishing opportunities for her materials. Breaking into the book market seemed daunting as most publishers were looking for writers with previous publishing experience. In 2013, Andrea became a self-publishing author through Friesen Press which allowed her complete control over the entire creative process while receiving helpful advice and the support of qualified staff along the way.
It also allowed her to explore her love of all things paper. The illustrations started out as an experiment to bring about a vision she had for the story. It involved countless hours of creating templates which would be layered to bring life and depth to her storybook characters on 12x12 sheets of cardstock. While she doesn’t focus on scale and realism, she enjoys adding extra details that add texture and interest for the reader, inviting them to linger awhile longer over each page.
The story recounts the tale of a little red kite who finds himself grounded on a windless day. Longing to fly with his kite friends, he sets off in search of the wind, where along the way he meets a wise oak tree, a lazy hound dog and a blue shirt who all share their own experiences with the wind. Through the eyes of a little kite we learn a heartwarming lesson in child-like faith.
Little Kite and the Big Wind is Andrea’s first publication. It is enjoyed by all ages, including adults, but is best suited for children 5 – 11 years old. It’s currently available at Mennonite Heritage Village and Ten Thousand Villages in Steinbach, but can also be purchased by contacting Andrea directly at 204-427-2261 (home) or 204-712-0799 (cell) or by email at thimar@mts.net
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